Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures

Have you ever repaired a boiler tube leak, put the unit RELATED LINKS:
back into service, only to be forced offline by another
leak? Condition assessment
(/en/service/condition-
Identifying and correcting the root cause of tube failures assessment)
is essential to help lessen the chance of future problems.
A comprehensive assessment is the most effective Field services
method of determining the root cause of a failure. A tube (/en/service/field-
failure is usually a symptom of other problems. To fully services)
understand the cause of the failure, you must investigate
all aspects of boiler operation leading to the failure in Parts (/en/service/parts)
addition to evaluating the failure itself.
Upgrades and retrofits
When you experience tube failures, take advantage of (/en/service/upgrades-
B&W’s expertise to help you determine and eliminate the retrofits)
root cause of the problem. Our experienced field service
engineers (/en/service/field-services) can help gather all
the pertinent information. Better yet, let us help put

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

together a complete condition assessment program

(/en/service/condition-assessment) to help eliminate tube Return To The Learning
problems before failures occur. Center
(/En/Resources/Learning-
The following boiler tube failure mechanisms are some of Center)
the most common that occur on modern operating
boilers. We’ve organized these into three sections and
have included their symptoms, possible causes, the
components typically affected and solutions:

Waterside failure mechanisms (/en/resources/learning-

center/finding-the-root-cause-of-boiler-tube-failure/waterside-
failure-mechanisms)

Fireside failure mechanisms (/en/resources/learning-

center/finding-the-root-cause-of-boiler-tube-
Explore our products and services
failure/fireside-failure-mechanisms)
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General failure mechanisms (/en/resources/learning-
center/finding-the-root-cause-of-boiler-tube-
failure/general-failure-mechanisms)

Waterside failure mechanisms

Caustic attack
Symptoms: Localized wall loss on the inside diameter
(ID) surface of the tube, resulting in increased stress and
strain in the tube wall.

Causes: Caustic attack occurs when there is excessive

deposition on ID tube surfaces. This leads to diminished
cooling water flow in contact with the tube, which in turn
causes local under-deposit boiling and concentration of

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

boiler water chemicals. If combined with boiler water

chemistry upsets of high pH, it results in a caustic
condition which corrosively attacks and breaks down
protective magnetite.

Components typically affected: Furnace wall tubes or

any inclined tube.

Solutions: To prevent reoccurrence of caustic gouging,

operators should prevent accumulation of excessive
deposits and control water chemistry so that boiler water
does not locally form caustic in areas where chemicals
concentrate. In some instances, where caustic gouging
along the top of a sloped tube is associated with steam-
water separation, such separation can be avoided by use
of ribbed tubes. Controlling water chemistry can be
achieved by assuring appropriate feedwater chemistry
with phosphate boiler water treatments.

Oxygen pitting
Symptoms: Aggressive localized boiler tube corrosion
and loss of tube wall. Pits can act as stress-concentration
sites which can be initiation points for stress-related
corrosion mechanisms

Causes: Oxygen pitting occurs with the presence of

excessive oxygen in boiler water. It can occur during
operation as a result of in-leakage of air at pumps, or
failure in operation of preboiler water treatment
equipment. This also may occur during extended out-of-
service periods, such as outages and storage, if proper
procedures are not followed in layup.

More generalized oxidation of tubes during idle periods is

sometimes referred to as out-of-service corrosion.
Wetted surfaces are subject to oxidation as the water
reacts with the iron to form iron oxide.

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

Components typically affected: During outage

periods, flooded or non-drainable surfaces, such as
superheater loops or sagging horizontal superheater and
reheater tubes and supply lines, are most susceptible;
also, when poorly deaerated water is used for startup or
for accelerated cooling of a boiler. On operating boilers, it
is most prevalent near pre-boiler feedwater heaters and
economizers.

Solutions: Follow proper layup procedures during boiler

outages and improve oxygen control during boiler
startups and boiler operation.

Hydrogen damage
Symptoms: Intergranular micro-cracking. Loss of
ductility or embrittlement of the tube material leading to
brittle catastrophic rupture.

Causes: Most commonly associated with excessive

deposition on ID tube surfaces, coupled with a boiler
water low pH excursion. Water chemistry upset, such as
what can occur from condenser leaks, particularly with
salt water cooling medium. Leads to acidic (low pH)
contaminants that can be concentrated in the deposit.
Under-deposit corrosion releases atomic hydrogen which
migrates into the tube wall metal, reacts with carbon in
the steel (decarburization), and causes intergranular
separation. The failures are usually, though not
necessarily, associated with a heavy scale on the tube
surface.

Components typically affected: Usually occurs in

regions of high heat flux and is generally confined to
waterwall tubes.

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

Solutions: Prevention of scale on the water side of the

tubing, as well as tight control of the water chemistry,
can help prevent hydrogen damage.

Acid attack Learn More About

STEAM 42
Symptoms: Corrosive attack of the tube metal
surfaces resulting in an irregular pitted or swiss cheese
appearance on the tube ID. (/en/resources/steam-its-
generation-and-use)
Causes: Most commonly associated with poor process
control during boiler chemical cleanings, inadequate
cleaning of residual acid, and/or inadequate post
cleaning passivation.

Components typically affected: Waterwall tubes.

Solutions: Control water chemistry, watch for

chemical hideout, maintain proper controls during
boiler chemical cleanings.

Stress corrosion cracking

Symptoms: Failures are characterized by a thick wall,
brittle-type crack. May be found at locations of higher
external stresses, such as near attachments. Most
commonly associated with austenitic (stainless steel)
superheater materials and can lead to either
transgranular or intergranular crack propagation in the
tube wall. Stress corrosion (or stress-assisted corrosion)
cracks are typically branched with numerous small
secondary cracks associated with the main fracture area.

Causes: It occurs where a combination of high-tensile

stresses and a corrosive fluid are present. The damage
results from cracks that propagate from the ID. The

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

source of corrosive fluid may be carryover into the

superheater from the steam drum or from contamination
during boiler acid cleaning if the superheater is not
properly protected.

Components typically affected: Stainless steel

superheater and reheater tubes.

Solutions: Avoid water carryover control hydrotest

methods, flush after cleaning.

Waterside corrosion fatigue

Symptoms: ID initiated, wide transgranular cracks
which typically occur adjacent to external attachments.
Failures are catastrophic, thick-lipped failures that initiate
from ID cracks that are oriented perpendicular to the
direction of the stress

Causes: Tube damage occurs due to the combination of

thermal fatigue and corrosion. Corrosion fatigue is
influenced by boiler design, water chemistry, boiler water
oxygen content, and boiler operation. A combination of
these effects leads to the breakdown of the protective
magnetite on the ID surface of the boiler tube. Loss of
this protective scale exposes the tube to corrosion. The
problem is most likely to progress during boiler start-up
cycles.

Components typically affected: The locations of

attachments and external weldments, such as buckstay
attachments, seal plates and scallop bars, are most
susceptible.

Solutions: Minimize number of cycles, minimize

constraints on tubes, lower dissolved oxygen on start-up.

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

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center/finding-the-root-cause-of-
boiler-tube-failure/boiler-tube-
failure-back-to-
top#BoilerTubeFailureBackToTop)

Fireside failure mechanisms

Fuel ash corrosion

Symptoms: External tube wall loss and increasing tube
strain. Tubes commonly have a pock-marked appearance
when scale and corrosion products are removed.

Causes: Fuel ash corrosion is a function of the ash

characteristics of the fuel and the boiler design. It is
usually associated with coal firing, but can also occur for
certain types of oil firing. The ash characteristics are
considered in the boiler design when establishing the
size, geometry and materials used in the boiler.
Combustion gas and metal temperatures in the
convection passes are important considerations. Damage
occurs when certain coal ash constituents remain in a
molten state on the superheater or reheater tube
surfaces. This can be highly corrosive.

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Finding the Root Cause of Boiler Tube Failures 13/6/20, 1)41 PM

Components typically affected: Superheaters and

reheaters.

Solutions: The most straightforward method to reduce

fuel ash corrosion is by using materials with higher
chromium concentrations. In general, materials with
>20% Cr have significantly lower fuel ash corrosion rates
than materials with <20% Cr. The installation of
austenitic stainless steel tube shields has been
successfully implemented to reduce fuel ash corrosion in
boiler locations that exhibit very corrosive conditions.
Additions of calcium and magnesium to the fuel can also
help mitigate fuel ash corrosion.

High-temperature oxidation
Similar in appearance and often confused with fuel ash
corrosion, high-temperature oxidation can occur locally in
areas that have the highest outside diameter (OD)
surface temperature relative to the oxidation limit of the
tube material. Determining the root cause of the
mechanisms of fuel ash corrosion or high-temperature
oxidation is best accomplished by tube analysis and
evaluation of scale and deposits.

Waterwall fireside corrosion

Symptoms: External tube metal loss (wastage) leading
to thinning and increasing tube strain.

Causes: Corrosion occurs on external surfaces of

waterwall tubes when the combustion process produces a
reducing atmosphere (substoichiometric). This is
common in the lower furnace of recovery boilers. For
units firing coal, boilers having maladjusted burners or
utilizing staged firing (with overfire air ports) can be

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more susceptible to larger localized regions possessing a

reducing atmosphere, resulting in increased corrosion
rates.

Components typically affected: Waterwall tubes.

Solutions: The primary method employed to combat

furnace wall boiler tube corrosion is the use of high-
Ni/high-Cr weld overlays on tubes in the locations that
are experiencing the worst corrosion. Corrosion-resistant
thermal sprays may also be considered for this
application.

Fireside corrosion fatigue

Symptoms: Tubes develop a series of cracks that initiate
on the OD surface and propagate into the tube wall.
Since the damage develops over longer periods, tube
surfaces tend to develop appearances described as
elephant hide, alligator hide or craze cracking. The
damage is most commonly seen as a series of
circumferential cracks.

Causes: The damage initiation and propagation result

from corrosion in combination with thermal fatigue. Tube
OD surfaces experience thermal fatigue stress cycles
which can occur from normal shedding of slag,
sootblowing, or from cyclic operation of the boiler.
Thermal cycling, in addition to subjecting the material to
cyclic stress, can initiate cracking of the less elastic
external tube scales and expose the tube base material
to repeated corrosion.

Components typically affected: This type of boiler

corrosion fatigue is commonly found on furnace wall
tubes of coal-fired once-through boiler designs, but has
also occurred on tubes in drum-type boilers.

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Solutions: Reduce the ramp rates during start-up and

shut-down to reduce the thermal stresses. Optimize
sootblowing operations to minimize thermal stresses.

Erosion
Symptoms: Tube experiences metal loss from the OD of
the tube. Damage will be oriented on the impact side of
the tube. Ultimate failure results from rupture due to
increasing strain as tube material erodes away.

Causes: Erosion of tube surfaces occurs from

impingement on the external surfaces. Firing high ash
fuels, such as western U.S. subbituminous coal, may lead
to more erosion, slagging and fouling problems. The
erosion medium can be any abrasive in the combustion
gas flow stream, but is most commonly associated with
impingement of fly ash or sootblowing steam. In cases
where sootblower steam is the primary cause, the
erosion may be accompanied by thermal fatigue.

Components typically affected: Common near

sootblowers; on the leading edges of economizers,
superheaters and reheaters; and where there are
vortices or around eddies in the flue gas at changes in
gas velocity or direction.

Solutions: For fly ash erosion, distribute flow evenly

through the boiler and consider burning a lower ash fuel.
Optimize sootblowing operations to minimize damaging
impingement.

Mechanical fatigue
Symptoms: Damage most often results in an OD
initiated crack. The failures tend to be localized to the
area of high stress or constraint.

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Causes: Fatigue is the result of cyclical stresses in the

component. Distinct from thermal fatigue effects,
mechanical fatigue damage is associated with externally
applied stresses. Stresses may be associated with
vibration due to flue gas flow or sootblowers (high-
frequency, low-amplitude stresses), or with boiler cycling
(low-frequency, high-amplitude stress mechanism).

Components typically affected: Fatigue failures will

most often occur at areas of constraint such as tube
penetrations, welds, or supports.

Solutions: Identify and minimize the source of thermal

or mechanical cyclic stresses.

(/en/resources/learning-
center/finding-the-root-cause-of-
boiler-tube-failure/boiler-tube-
failure-back-to-
top#BoilerTubeFailureBackToTop)

General failure mechanisms

Short-term overheat

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Symptoms: Failures result in a ductile rupture of the

tube metal and are normally characterized by the classic
fish mouth opening in the tube where the fracture
surface is a thin edge.

Causes: Short-term overheat failures are most common

during boiler start-up. Failures result when the tube
metal temperature is extremely elevated from a lack of
cooling steam or water flow. A typical example is when
superheater tubes have not cleared of condensation
during boiler start-up, obstructing steam flow. Tube
metal temperatures reach combustion gas temperatures
of 1600F (870C) or greater which lead to tube failure.

Components typically affected: Furnace wall tubes,

superheaters, reheaters.

Solutions: Ensure that no blockages exist within the

tubes and bends. Follow prescribed shut-down and start-
up procedures to boil out any condensate.

Long-term overheat
Symptoms: The failed tube has minimal swelling and a
longitudinal split that is narrow when compared to short-
term overheat. Tube metal often has heavy external
scale build-up and secondary cracking.

Causes: Long-term overheat occurs over a period of

months or years. Superheater and reheater tubes
commonly fail after many years of service as a result of
creep. During normal operation, alloy superheater tubes
will experience increasing temperature and strain over
the life of the tube until the creep life is expended.
Furnace water wall tubes can also fail from long-term
overheat. In the case of water wall tubes, the tube
temperature increases abnormally, most commonly from
waterside problems such as deposits, scale, or restricted

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flow. In the case of either superheater or water wall

tubes, eventual failure is by creep rupture.

Components typically affected: Furnace wall tubes,

superheaters, reheaters.

Solutions: Correct flame impingement issues on

waterwall tubes. Correct water/steam circulation
maldistribution issues. Chemically clean tubes to improve
heat transfer. Balance furnace/flue gas temperatures with
circulation to reduce the tube temperatures.

Graphitization
Symptoms: Failure is brittle with a thick edge fracture.

Causes: Long-term operation at relatively high metal

temperatures can result in damage in carbon steels of
higher carbon content, or carbon-molybdenum steel,
particularly in weld heat affected zones (HAZ), and result
in a unique degradation of the material. These materials,
if exposed to excessive temperature, will experience
dissolution of the iron carbide in the steel and formation
of graphite nodules, resulting in a loss of strength and
eventual failure. Sudden tube failures can occur with no
warning.

Components typically affected: Most prevalent in the

portions of the superheater and reheater that operate at
relatively low temperatures (such as piping).

Solutions: Use available graphitization prediction curves

to determine locations that are at greatest risk. Evaluate
samples from locations that are at greatest risk. Replace
components that display evidence of graphitization.

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Dissimilar metal weld (DMW)

failure
Symptoms: Failure is preceded by little or no warning of
tube degradation. The material fails at the ferritic side of
the weld, along the weld fusion line. A failure tends to be
catastrophic as the entire tube will fail across the
circumference of the tube section.

Causes: DMW describes the butt weld where an autenitic

(stainless steel) material joins a ferritic alloy (such as
SA213T22) material. Failures at DMW locations occur on
the ferritic side of the butt weld. These failures are
attributed to several factors: high stresses at the
austenitic-to-ferritic interface due to differences in
expansion properties of the two materials, excessive
external loading stresses and thermal cycling, and creep
of the ferritic material. Failures are a function of
operating temperatures and unit design.

Components typically affected: Superheater and

reheater outlet bank connections to the outlet headers.

Solutions: Replace DMWs with a shop-welded Dutchman

or a field weld that utilizes a Ni-based weld metal. Ensure
that locations where DMWs are present are not being
overheated during operation.

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